nbasportsfandomcom-20200214-history
Dwyane Wade
Dwyane Tyrone Wade, Jr. (born January 17, 1982), nicknamed Flash or D-Wade, is an American professional basketball player who currently plays for the Miami Heat of the NBA (National Basketball Association). Named the 2006 Sportsman of the Year by Sports Illustrated, Wade has established himself as one of the most well-known and popular players in the league. He had the top selling jersey in the NBA for nearly two years, as he led the NBA in jersey sales from the 2005 NBA Playoffs, until the midpoint of the 2006–07 season. His first name is pronounced /dwɛɪn/, the same as the more common spellings "Duane" and "Dwayne". After entering the league as the fifth pick in the 2003 NBA Draft, Wade was named to the All-Rookie team and the All-Star team the following nine seasons. In his third season, Wade helped lead the Miami Heat to their first NBA championship in franchise history. He was named the 2006 NBA Finals MVP as he helped lead the Heat to a 4–2 series win over the Dallas Mavericks. At the 2008 Summer Olympics, Wade led the United States men's basketball team, commonly known as the "Redeem Team", in scoring, as they captured gold medal honors in Beijing, China. In the 2008–09 season, Wade led the league in scoring and earned his first NBA scoring title. He was part of Miami's second championship win in the 2012 NBA Finals, when Miami defeated the Oklahoma City Thunder. He won his third NBA championship in 2013, when the Heat defeated the San Antonio Spurs in the 2013 NBA Finals Early life Dwyane Wade was born on the South Side of Chicago, Illinois to Dwyane, Sr. and Jolinda Wade. He cites one of his older sisters, Tragil, as the individual most responsible for his childhood upbringing and for steering him in the proper direction.3 His parents divorced and he lived with his father and stepmother in Robbins, Illinois during his childhood. As a child growing up in the Chicago area Wade idolized former Chicago Bulls star Michael Jordan, and has said he patterns his game after him. Wade attended Harold L. Richards High School in Oak Lawn, playing for the school's varsity basketball team. While he did not acquire much playing time during his second year, his stepbrother, Demetris McDaniel, was the star of the team.Wade grew four inches in the summer before his junior year and saw an increase in playing time, averaging 20.7 points and 7.6 rebounds per game.[8 The following year, Wade averaged 27.0 points and 11.0 rebounds per game while leading his team to a 24–5 record.8 It advanced to the title game of the Class AA Eisenhower Sectional.8 During this season he set school records for points (676) and steals (106) in a season.8 Wade was recruited by only three college basketball teams (Marquette University, Illinois State, and DePaul University) due to academic problems.[ College career Wade chose to play college basketball for Tom Crean at Marquette University in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. During Wade's freshman year at Marquette, he was ineligible to play with the men's team due to a violation of the NCAA's Proposition 48. Wade sought tutoring to improve his writing skills in order to regain eligibility. When Wade became eligible to play the following year (2001–2002), he led the Golden Eagles in scoring with 17.8 ppg, led the conference in steals at 2.47 per game, and accumulated averages of 6.6 rebounds per game and 3.4 assists per game.12 Marquette finished with a 26–7 record,8 the school's best record since the 1993–94 season.8 In 2002–03, Wade led Marquette in scoring again with 21.5 ppg,12 and Marquette won the school's first and only Conference USA championship with a 27–6 record. That season Wade led the Golden Eagles to the Final Four, the school's first appearance in the Final Four since winning the 1977 national championship. After the season, he was named to the All-America First Team by the Associated Press; Wade is the first Marquette basketball player since 1978 to do so.8 Wade's performance during the Midwest Regional Final of the 2003 NCAA Tournament was highly publicized by the national press. Against heavily favored, top-ranked and top-seeded Kentucky Wildcats, Wade recorded a triple-double with 29 points, 11 rebounds, and 11 assists.13 His triple double was the fourth in NCAA Tournament history. Wade's exceptional play helped lead Marquette over the Wildcats 83–69 and into the Final Four; Wade was named MVP of the Midwest Regional. Marquette finished the season ranked No.6 in the AP poll, the school's highest ranking since the 1976–77 season. Wade's strong tournament play resulted in increased visibility in the national media and, consequently, a high draft projection.15 As a result, he elected to forgo his senior year at Marquette and enter the 2003 NBA draft. On February 3, 2007, almost four years after Wade played in his final collegiate game, Marquette retired his jersey at halftime of a game against Providence. Although Marquette requires student-athletes to graduate prior to receiving jersey retirement honors, the University made a special exception for Wade based on his accomplishments since leaving Marquette.16 NBA career Rookie year (2003–04) Selected 5th overall in the 2003 NBA Draft by the Miami Heat, Wade quickly emerged as a productive player on a youthful Miami Heat team and averaged 16.2 points on 46.5% shooting with averages of 4.0 rebounds and 4.5 assists per game. Wade is one of only four Marquette University players to be drafted in the first round; his is the highest draft selection in school history. After a 5–15 start,18 the Heat would gradually improve and finish 42–40 to qualify for the NBA playoffs.19 He further distinguished himself with outstanding performances in the playoffs, particularly against the Indiana Pacers in the Eastern Conference Semi-finals. In the end, however, Wade's successful rookie season was somewhat overshadowed by the success of fellow rookies Carmelo Anthony and LeBron James. Wade did earn unanimous selection to the 2004 NBA All-Rookie Team, and also finished third in rookie of the year voting (behind James and Anthony).13 He was ranked in the top five among rookies in several major statistical categories, including second in field goal percentage, second in steals, third in scoring, fourth in assists, and fourth in minutes played.13 In the playoffs Wade hit a game winning shot in Game 1 of the Heat's first round series against the New Orleans Pelicans. The Heat won the series 4–3 and advanced to the second round to face the top-seeded and best record team in the NBA, the Indiana Pacers, in a very entertaining series that almost pushed the 61-win Pacers to the edge, though Miami would eventually lose the series in six games. He became the fourth rookie since the shot clock era began to lead his team in scoring and assist average in the postseason. Injuries and missing playoffs (2006–08) In the 2006–07 season, Wade missed a total of 31 games due to injury. He was elected to his third straight All-Star Game and received All-NBA honors. He became the first guard to earn All-NBA honors after missing at least 31 games in a season since Pete Maravich of the Utah Jazz earned Second Team honors during the 1977–78 season.13 Despite Wade's play, the Heat struggled early in the season with injuries and were 20–25 on February 1, 2007.33 But with Shaquille O'Neal healthy and Pat Riley returning to the bench after undergoing hip and knee surgeries,the Heat seemed poised to surge into the second half of the season. However, during a game against the [[Houston Rockets] on February 21, 2007, while attempting to steal the ball from Shane Battier, Wade dislocated his left shoulder and was assisted off the court in a wheelchair.36 After the injury he was left with the decision to either rehabilitate the shoulder or undergo season-ending surgery.37 Wade later announced that he would put off the surgery and rehabilitate his shoulder with the intention of rejoining the team in time for the playoffs.[ After missing 23 games to recover from the injury, Wade returned to the active roster in a game against the Charlotte Bobcats. Sporting a black sleeve to help protect his dislocated left shoulder, Wade played 27 minutes and recorded 12 points and 8 assists, in a 111–103 overtime loss.] For the season, Wade averaged 27.4 points, 7.5 assists, 4.7 rebounds, and 2.1 steals per game shooting 50% from the field, and finished the season as the NBA's leader in PER (Player efficiency rating). In the playoffs, Wade averaged 23.5 points, 6.3 assists, and 4.8 rebounds per game, as the Heat were swept in the first round by the Chicago Bulls. Following the playoffs, Wade underwent a pair of successful surgeries to repair his dislocated left shoulder and left knee. The knee ailment, commonly called "jumper's knee," prevented Wade from joining USA Basketball in the Olympic Qualifying Tournament over the summer. After missing the Tournament of Americas Olympic Qualifiers over the summer, Miami's eight pre-season games and first seven regular season games to recover from off-season left knee and left shoulder surgeries, Wade made his first appearance of the 2007–08 season on November 14, 2007. Battling pain in his left knee throughout the season, Wade was elected to his fourth consecutive All-Star Game appearance. However, with the Heat holding the worst record in the NBA and Wade still experiencing problems in his left knee, Heat coach Pat Riley announced Wade would miss the final 21 games of the season to undergo OssaTron treatment on his left knee. Wade averaged 24.6 points, 6.9 assists, 4.2 rebounds, and 1.7 steals per game for the season. The Big 3 era and back-to-back championships (2010–present) During the off-season, Miami-Dade County commissioners voted unanimously to rename the county "Miami-Wade County" for one week from July 1–7, 2010 in Wade's honor and to try and convince Wade to stay in Miami and sign with the Heat. On July 7, it was announced that Wade would be re-signing with the Miami Heat, along with former Toronto Raptor Chris Bosh.The following day, LeBron James announced he would be joining the Heat to play with Wade and Bosh, causing a stir in the media and among fans. The deals were officially announced on July 10; Bosh and James arrived via sign-and-trade deals. The Heat finished with a 58-24 record in the first year of the Big 3 Era and earned the second seed in the Eastern Conference. For the season, Wade averaged 25.5 points, 6.4 rebounds, 4.6 assists, and 1.5 steals per game, shooting 50% from the field. After defeating the Philadelphia 76ers, Boston Celtics, and Chicago Bulls, the Heat reached the Finals, but lost to the Dallas Mavericks in six games. Wade averaged 26.5 points, 7 rebounds and 5.2 assists per game for the NBA Finals and 24.5 points, 7.1 rebounds and 4.4 for the entire playoffs. Prior to the beginning of the 2011-12 NBA season, Bosh in 2012 opined Wade should take the last second shot instead of Bosh or James to win or lose a game based off Wade's past success. On February 26, 2012 at the All-Star Game Wade recorded what was only the third triple-double in the history of the contest, posting 24 points, 10 rebounds and 10 assists, joining Michael Jordan and LeBron James as the only players ever to record the prestigious stat (at the 1997 and 2011 games respectively). On March 10, 2012 Wade made the game-winning shot against the Indiana Pacers to give the Heat a 93–91 overtime win. Wade finished the season averaging 22.1 points, 4.8 assists, 4.6 rebounds, and 1.7 steals per game. In the playoffs, the Heat defeated the New York Knicks in 5 games in the first round, then defeated the Indiana Pacers in 6 games in the second round. Wade heated up in Game 6 of the second round, recording 41 points and 10 rebounds. The Celtics took the Heat to seven games in the Eastern Conference Finals, but the Heat prevailed and advanced to the NBA Finals. They lost to the Oklahoma City Thunder in Game 1 of the finals, but won the next four games, and Wade secured his second NBA title. Wade averaged 22.6 points per game in the series. The Heat became the first team in NBA history to win a championship after trailing in three different playoff series. Before the start of the 2012-13 NBA season, Wade underwent surgery due to a left knee injury. He missed the 2012 Summer Olympics. While Wade missed the Heat's first pre-season game against the Atlanta Hawks, he returned in time for the Heat's second pre-season game against the Los Angeles Clippers, which was held at the Master Card Center in Beijing, China. Miami won the game 94–80. On December 26, 2012, during an away game against the Charlotte Bobcats, Wade kicked guard Ramon Sessions in the groin. The following day, Wade was suspended by the NBA for one game. At the end of the season, the Heat defeated the San Antonio Spurs in the 2013 NBA Finals, giving Wade his third championship Category:Roster